Deploy Zeroclaw — A Rust-Based AI Runtime That Uses Just 5MB of RAM

Zeroclaw is a Rust-based agentic runtime that uses roughly 5MB of RAM. It runs on ARM, x86, and RISC-V architectures, ships with swappable LLM providers and memory backends, and has zero external dependencies. If you want the most resource-efficient AI agent possible, this is it.

Deploying it manually means compiling the Rust binary (or pulling a prebuilt one), configuring providers and channels, and setting up process management. With HowToDeploy, the entire thing takes a few clicks.

Why Zeroclaw?

~5MB RAM — the most memory-efficient AI agent runtime available
Rust performance — blazing fast, no garbage collector pauses, no runtime overhead
Zero dependencies — no Node.js, no Python, no Docker. Just a single binary
Multi-architecture — runs on ARM (Raspberry Pi), x86 (standard servers), and RISC-V
Swappable everything — providers (Anthropic, OpenAI), memory backends, and channels can all be swapped via config
Tiny disk footprint — needs just 10GB of disk space

Prerequisites

Before you start, you'll need:

A HowToDeploy account (sign up free)
A cloud provider API key (DigitalOcean, Hetzner, Vultr, Linode, or AWS)
An Anthropic API key (or OpenAI — Zeroclaw supports both)

Step 1: Connect your cloud provider

Go to Settings → Cloud Providers and paste your API key.

Tip: Zeroclaw is so lightweight that it runs comfortably on the cheapest server tier any provider offers. You can run it for as little as $4/month on Hetzner.

Step 2: Deploy Zeroclaw

Head to the Dashboard and find Zeroclaw in the AI Agents section. Click the card to open the deploy form.

You only need one field:

Anthropic API Key — the default LLM provider for Zeroclaw

Everything else — server size (1GB RAM, 1 CPU, 10GB disk), region, and dependencies — is pre-configured.

Step 3: Customize your setup (optional)

Expand Advanced Settings to add:

Telegram Bot Token — connect a Telegram bot via @BotFather
Discord Bot Token — from the Discord Developer Portal
OpenAI API Key — use OpenAI models instead of (or alongside) Anthropic

Zeroclaw's swappable architecture means you can change providers, memory backends, and channels at any time by editing the config file on your server.

Step 4: Start using your agent

Once deployment completes, Zeroclaw is live. If you connected a messaging channel, your bot will start responding immediately.

The Rust binary boots in milliseconds — you'll notice the difference compared to heavier agent frameworks.

What's included

Every Zeroclaw deployment includes:

Single Rust binary — no runtime dependencies, no package managers
Swappable LLM providers — Anthropic and OpenAI out of the box
Pluggable memory — swap between in-memory, file-based, or custom backends
Telegram & Discord — messaging integrations ready to go
Full SSH access — your server, your binary, your config

Who is Zeroclaw for?

Zeroclaw is ideal for developers and tinkerers who want:

An AI agent on a Raspberry Pi or other low-power hardware
The lowest possible hosting cost — 5MB RAM means you can run it on the cheapest VPS available
A Rust-native runtime with no interpreted language overhead
Full control over every layer — providers, memory, channels, and behavior

Pricing

You pay your cloud provider directly for the server (as low as $4/month). HowToDeploy charges a small monthly management fee for monitoring and support.

Start with a 7-day free trial — no credit card required.

Ready to deploy the most efficient AI agent? Deploy Zeroclaw now →